College will hands down be the most amazing experience of your young adult life. Is college easy? Absolutely not! Is college all fun and games and good times in Aggieville? Not by a long shot! There will be, without a doubt, an abundance of late nights, bad professors, horrible roommates and classes that put you through hell. Personally, I shed a lot of tears and made a lot of calls home to Mom and Dad just to survive the rough times. However, college has blessed me with the chance to travel to amazing new cities, an abundance of lifelong friendships and crazy memories that I’ll cherish for a lifetime.

Despite the ups and downs and curveballs college throws at you, the whole goal of college, whether you’re going onto graduate school or vet school or simply pursuing your under grad, is to get a job when you’re done. With everything we have going on as students it’s easy to lose sight of our end goal. As a graduating senior looking back at my college experience I can honestly say Sigma Alpha had a huge role in preparing me for my future career. And here is how:

4. Professionalism, Professionalism, professionalism

As a former FFA and FBLA member, I thought I had professionalism down to a “T”, at least for someone of my age and experience. Boy was I wrong. With Sigma Alpha’s emphasis on professionalism I have learned how to handle many different situations in a professional manner. Anything from personality conflicts to dancing the night away at Emerald Ball, my sisters have lead by example and surrounded me with knowledge and experience that I would not have been exposed to otherwise.

3. Confidence

Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be the Social Chair of an organization. Before college I preferred to stay at home with my books than go out and socialize. Meeting an entire organization that shares my values and interests changed the game for me. Sigma Alpha helped me step out of my comfort zone and grow as a person and a professional in ways I never would have without those relationships in my life.

2. Support Through the Failures

You will, without a doubt, experience rejection more times than you can count. Boys will dump you, friends will ditch you and employers will say “no”. I went through four different job interviews before I was offered my position. For every milestone I reached and accomplishment I made, there was a long list of failures and embarrassments that came before it. My experience with Sigma Alpha has taught me that failure is a very unpleasant but necessary part of life and that the most important part of rejection is to surround yourself with people who love you and support you despite your failures.

1. The Ag Industry is Home

During my long job search, I interviewed with a wide variety of companies. I interviewed for finance and analyst positions and I was genuinely excited about them at the time. However, after I left the interviews and I was the only one in the room who knew what meat science and agronomy were, I knew those positions were not the ones for me. Sigma Alpha inspired me to follow my passion for agriculture and showed me that this industry is the only place I will ever feel truly at home.

I have to sincerely say thank you to Sigma Alpha for all that you have done for me. I will never forget the memories and lessons you’ve shared or how much I grew while being a part of this amazing organization. Carry on your traditions with pride and never forget to live life with the heart of the bull.

Sigma Alpha

Sigma Alpha, Alpha Omega chapter, is a professional agriculture sorority on the Kansas State University campus. Girls apart of Sigma Alpha have a strong passion for agriculture, and wish to develop skills to help contribute to the industry.

“The objective of this sorority shall be to promote its members in all facets of agriculture and to strengthen the bonds of friendship among them. It is the purpose of the members to strive for achievement in scholarship, leadership, and service, and to further the development of excellence in women pursuing careers in agriculture.”

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